Oak Ridge, Tenn. – Colgate men's rowing traveled to Oak Ridge, Tenn. on April 18th and 19th to compete at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Regatta.
ASSISTANT COACH ERIC SUMMER'S COMMENTS
"Both boats raced really well this weekend from the heats to the semis and into the finals. We came up just short against two excellent crews, Texas in the four and Purdue in the eight, who rowed great finals."
HEATS
Varsity Four
The varsity four took to the water for Colgate's first heat of the day, placing second to automatically qualify for the semis. With a heat time of 7:05.862, the crew faced Fordham, Jacksonville, William and Mary, Texas Christian, and South Carolina.
- Going into the second half of the race, Texas took the lead, closely followed behind by the Raiders, then Clemson. These three crews found themselves lengths ahead of the other boats.
- Clemson pushed to pull even with the Raiders, both teams still down by three-fourths of length on Texas.
- Colgate answered the Tigers' move, walked away, and used that momentum to attempt to catch the Longhorns.
- The gap between Texas and the Raiders widened going into the 250m sprint, leading the Longhorns to cross the line first in 7:00.724.
- Colgate finished second (7:05.862) to advance to the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon.
Varsity Eight
The Raiders in the varsity eight also clinched a direct line into the semis as they took first overall in their heat, clocking in at 6:02.529. The afternoon led them to battle against Jacksonville, FIT, Clemson, UGA, and WashU for a spot in the grand final.
- The varsity eight took an early lead against the rest of the field, at the start, putting themselves up half of a length on second-place position, Fordham.
- Coxswain, Rina Borenstein, rallied her crew to push themselves to an open-water advantage at the 1000m mark.
- With a stroke rate of 36 SPM, the Raiders continued to extend that lead to a boatlength of open-water through the finish line.
- Fordham and Notre Dame duked it out for the second automatic advancement to the semis, but the Rams (6:07.415) edged the Boilermakers (6:08.044) out.
SEMIS
Varsity Four
The four ended their Saturday racing victorious as they clinched a spot in the grad final after finishing first in their semi. Their overall semi time of 7:11.963 allowed Colgate to have a first-seed lane advantage in their grand final. The boat raced against Texas, Vanderbilt, Fordham, Clemson, and Virginia.
- Colgate trailed behind Fordham by a seat going into the last 7500m. With both boats matching each other's pace and stroke rate it was a matter of who handled the weather conditions better.
- The Raiders made a move to sneak by the Rams and put their bow ball ahead of the other team, but Fordham continued to make their own move to just barely be put behind Colgate.
- The last 250m was a true sprint for these two teams, both of them pushing each other to their limits.
- Madeleine Adams encouraged her crew to sprint hard, ultimately leading to a last minute walk through the Rams, gaining over three-fourths of a length on them.
- Colgate was deemed victorious in their sprint, earning a spot in the grand final. They will see Fordham (7:14.364) again on Sunday as they also clinched a spot in the final.
Varsity Eight
Colgate's varsity eight also made their way to their grand final as they clocked in first in the semis with a time of 5:54.149. The eight will be seeded second after Purdue (5:52.194) finished first in their respective heat.
- Off the starting blocks, Colgate made a statement by putting their bow ball two seats ahead of the other crews. They were trailed by Jacksonville and FIT for second and third, respectively
- The Raiders started to separate themselves more at 500m, but FIT stayed in contact with them.
- Into the second 500m, Colgate walked to a boat-length ahead of the other crews.
- The third 500m wasn't an obstacle for the Raiders as they cleared open-water on Jacksonville in second, followed by FIT in third.
- Using this momentum, the eight became the uncontested winner of their semi-final, and will face Jacksonville (5:58.987) again in the grand final.
- Colgate will also race against Notre Dame, Virginia, Embry-Riddle, and Jacksonville on Sunday.
- Virginia and Purdue took home first and second, respectively, at the American Collegiate Rowing Association Championship Regatta in 2025. The Cavaliers also finished second at the same championship regatta in 2024. Colgate has rarely faced these crews, as the two are clubs and do not compete in the same events typically.
FINALS
Varsity Four
The grand final in the men's four was a battle for Colgate, but the team managed to finish in second-place ahead of Vanderbilt and Fordham. The Raiders finished with a time of 6:52.89.
- About 750m in Colgate trailed behind Texas, in first, and Clemson, pushing themselves against Fordham for that third-place position.
- The 1000m was a struggle for Clemson as they fell back, leaving the Raiders and Rams to overtake them for second.
- Colgate used the momentum of walking on the Tigers, to push themselves up on Fordham.
- Fordham responded with a move of their own to pull back even with the Raiders, making this a back-and-forth competition between the two teams.
- Going nose-to-nose into the last 250m, the Raiders had a more successful sprint, edging themselves ahead of Fordham for silver.
Varsity Eight
The Raiders ended their Sunday with a silver finish in the varsity eight grand final with a time of 5:44.547, trailing after Purdue's winning time (5:41.656) and ahead of Notre Dame (5:47.544) in third.
- Right away Colgate jumped out of the starting blocks, matching Virginia's pace to fight to see who will pass the 250m mark first.
- The bow of the Raiders got to the mark first, leading the pack through the first 500, followed by Purdue in second, then Virginia and Texas for third.
- The Boilermakers made a move to overtake Colgate and found themselves successful, leading the Raiders to trail by half a length into the last 1000m.
- Despite the Raiders' efforts to catch Purdue, the Boilermakers still crossed the line first.
UP NEXT
The Raiders travel to Camden, N.J. on May 8th and 9th for the Dad Vail Regatta, looking to qualify for a bid into the IRA National Championship.
Varsity Eight
Rina Borenstein (C), Luca Williams, Mark Giacona, Daniel Milligan, Andrew Dumaresq, Gabe Simmons, Oliver Miller, Mel Farrell, Ozzy Spiker
Varsity Four
Madeleine Adams (C), William White, Stokes Feezor, Christian Corcione, Harry Waters
